A chance to win…

To celebrate the launch of my latest novel Small Forgotten Moments, I'm giving away this stunning blue sea glass pendant. It was sourced on the very beach where the novel is set, by the wonderfully talented and keen-eyed Megan at SeaShaw Sea Glass Jewellery. Blue sea glass is apparently rare, so when she showed it …

When everything converges

Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com This is me right now. Well, obviously not actually me, I don't look like this - but I'm too knackered to look good in a photo right now! This week we helped Eldest Child move to Bristol - emotional exhaustion.We stayed in a hotel for a couple of nights …

How to be Happy

I wrote a short story, once, with that title - How to be Happy. I know - pretty shocking for something with 'happy' in the title to come from my pen, but there you go. It's still in draft form, so I may even get back to it at some point. I chose that title …

And just like that, summer was gone…

Well, not quite. Let's say it's in flux, as crispy brown leaves litter the pavement and no one's quite sure if they should wear a jumper, sunglasses, raincoat, or shorts - or a jaunty mix of all four. Last Monday it was hot... so hot. Artoo and I slouched around Churchtown because it looked like …

To write a novel, don’t write a short story instead!

  This month, I have mostly been side-tracked by the Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize, which is a huge international competition that I've entered for the past couple of years. Normally, I've had a story that I can refresh for this, and send off without too much fuss. But this year I had nothing. At …

The nature of short stories

Some bloggers excel at sharing with guests who bring their extensive knowledge with them, while others dive into the deep and meaningful, with carefully researched quotes to back up their argument. When I decided to start a blog, I had no contacts, no author friends at all - I was a complete writing loner - …

Just a quick update, while I wait…

It's been almost four weeks since I finished my novel and sent it to my beta readers. I've had one come back, and one giving intriguing updates. As hard as it is, I haven't looked at those first comments, and I haven't opened the ms at all in that time. I'm quite proud of myself …

#ThrowbackThursday – You. I. Us is finally here! (And a giveaway)

Today's Throwback Thursday post come from June 2016, just a few months ago, on the day my latest book was published. Below are details of a Goodreads giveaway that will be running for the next 10 days, so I thought a quick introduction for people who don't know about it would be a good idea. …